Naturally, Lys was already very satisfied with being able to fight to this extent.
After all, Fran was a genuine Archmage.
"But Merlin never takes risks …" Just as Lys was thinking about this, Solomon leisurely interjected.
"Eh?" Lys was stunned at first, but then he reacted.
'Right, Merlin never takes risks …'
Thinking about it, the first time he heard of this young Great Mage was during the hearing of the Hope Potion. After a few months of contact, it seemed to be true.
No matter how inconceivable the young Great Mage's words and actions seemed, in the end, one would find out that they were decisions made after careful consideration. One would rarely see him take any risks, let alone see him staking everything on a single throw.
'Will it be the same this time?'
The battle was still going on. Both sides were still in their previous positions, one attacking and one defending. Fran had just gotten up from the ground, and nothing seemed to have changed.
But in the joint exploration team, such as Suyass, Solomon, and Lys, these truly experienced mages, knew that this battle had entered its most dangerous phase.
Although that young Great Mage kept attacking and seemed to have the upper hand, he was actually walking on a tightrope. One mistake, one negligence, and he might fall into a bottomless abyss. Fran was an Archmage, and if he found an opportunity to counterattack, the crushing power of an Archmage would easily tear his opponent to shreds.
In fact, Fran was thinking the same thing.
For Fran, this battle was indeed somewhat unexpected.
That sudden Flame Burst thoroughly disrupted Fran's rhythm. Not only did it make him lose a lot of face, but it also put him in an awkward situation.
But Fran believed that this was only temporary.
As an Archmage, how could he be suppressed by a 9th Rank Great Mage? An Archmage's every move carried unparalleled magic power. A random spell cast by an Archmage might be something a 9th Rank Great Mage wouldn't be able to resist. That was a complete suppression.
Fran only had to endure for the time being.
As long as the other party made a mistake, he would be able to reverse the situation at any time and return everything back to them with interest.
As he thought of this, Fran couldn't help sneering. 'That Mafa Merlin is too naive. Does he really think that after injuring me with a Flame Burst, he has the power to contend against an Archmage?'
Now, this crazy suppression of spells could only be described as ridiculous.
'You are only a 9th Rank Great Mage. With your pitiful power, suppressing an Archmage with your spells is simply a dream. How much mana do you have? How many spells do you have? Even if you used the right time and place to coincidentally suppress me, so what? Do you have the ability to maintain that kind of suppression?
So what if I let you suppress me for thirty seconds?
So what if I let you suppress it for a minute?
As long as you make a single mistake, I can crush you to pieces.
'Unless you can really suppress me from start to finish, to the point where I can't even cast a single spell. In that case, you might really have a chance to win this battle.'
'Is this even possible?'
'Could a 9th Rank Great Mage keep suppressing an Archmage during the entire battle?'
Let alone Mafa Merlin, even Suyass wouldn't dare to say that. '
Fran's thoughts were very simple. 'Since you want to suppress me, then I'll let you suppress me. I'll see how long you can suppress me. So what if I let you suppress me for a minute or two? Sooner or later, you'll make a mistake, and as long as you make a mistake, I'll let you know how big the gap between an Archmage and a 9th Rank Great Mage is!'
Thus, Fran didn't panic under the continuous spell bombardment. He defended while patiently looking for a loophole, a sneer full of ridicule on his face.
But gradually, Fran couldn't laugh anymore.
Because he discovered that the other side had been suppressing him for a bit too long.
Three minutes had already passed, but the other side hadn't made a single mistake in his casting. He was like a precise machine, precise and efficient. Every spell seemed to have been copied from a textbook, making it impossible to find any loopholes.
This feeling was too unbearable.
Fran could clearly see that the other side hadn't burst out once. All his spells were ordinary spells, and he hadn't even used his metamagic ability.
But these ordinary spells kept coming one after the other, making it hard for him to breathe. At this time, Fran felt as if he had fallen into a swamp. The more he struggled, the more he resisted, the deeper he would sink.
Fran was somewhat panicking.
'What's going on? I've already stepped into the Archmage realm, and my opponent is only a 9th Rank Great Mage in his twenties. Why does this battle feel so difficult?'
'Don't tell me I'm going to lose?' A sudden thought flashed in Fran's mind.
It was the first time that Fran realized that he might lose this battle.
Even Fran was frightened by his own thoughts …
'How could I lose!'
When the battle started, Fran hadn't thought that he would lose. No, to be more precise, Fran hadn't even thought that a battle would happen.
Using the power of an Archmage to crush a 9th Rank Great Mage, how could this be considered a battle?
But now, Fran suddenly discovered that he might really lose.
Because this battle had already entered a rhythm that Fran couldn't break. The near invulnerable spell suppression made Fran feel suffocated. Spells kept falling one after another, and Fran didn't even have time to counterattack. If this continued, it wouldn't be Fran waiting for the other side to make a mistake while attacking, but rather the other side waiting for Fran to make a mistake while defending.
'What should I do?' Fran suddenly panicked. The consequences of losing this battle was something Fran simply couldn't bear.
It wasn't as simple as losing his priority in choosing magic materials.
This also involved the only thing Fran could rely on, the Spiritual Magic Set, the Crystal Scales.
It was hardly an exaggeration to say that if Fran lost this battle, he would truly lose everything!
'No good, I can't wait any longer!'
At this time, Fran no longer had the patience to wait for the other side to make a mistake. Fran started rousing all his mana and burst out with a life and death battle.
But …
Fran forgot the principle of haste and no speed. To a mage, a panicked state of mind was the greatest enemy.
Once Fran's life and death battle started, a huge hole appeared in his defense. In order to complete the burst faster, Fran didn't use a Runic Shield to fill the gap after his Elemental Shield weakened.
Fran's mind was filled with all kinds of wishful thinking. He thought that such a small hole wouldn't be grasped by the other side.
But it turned out that Fran was wrong once again.
Just as the Elemental Shield disappeared, a flame appeared in Lin Yun's palm. It was only the size of a finger and wasn't blazing or bright. But when that flame appeared, Suyass suddenly let out an alarmed cry.
Because Suyass recognized that flame. It was the flame that the young Great Mage had used to kill the Alpha Thunderbird in the forest.
Unfortunately, Suyass' cry came too late.
Fran didn't even have time to unleash his full strength when that flame swayed in the wind. It instantly turned into a flaming light, and fiercely lashed at Fran's body like a whip.
"Merlin!" Suyass reacted quickly. After letting out a cry of alarm, he cast an Ice Barrier that stuck close to Fran's body and protected him.
Ice Wall was a 6th Tier Spell, and its defensive power was famous among spells below the 8th Tier.
But Suyass noticed that the dazzling flame was only blocked by the Ice Barrier for a moment before it swept past Fran's body with a "rip" sound.
"Aaah!" Then, Fran let out a blood-curdling scream as he was sent flying once again, as if he had been struck by lightning.
The entire treasury was deathly silent.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
After a loud "bang", Fran once again fell to the ground. After a while, Fran spat out a mouthful of blood. He propped himself up with one hand and struggled a few times to stand up, but after a few tries, he fell back to the ground.
This time, it wasn't a Flame Burst.
The Upper Rank Flame Spirit personally made a move, and its power was close to the Archmage realm. If it burst out, even the Alpha Thunderbird would be killed in one hit, let alone a human like Fran.
Without the protection of the Elemental Shield and the Runic Shield, Fran could only survive because of the Ice Wall Suyass had cast.
That Ice Wall absorbed at least half of the damage from the Upper Rank Flame Spirit, and the rest of the damage landed on Fran's body.
But even so, Fran had already lost half of his life.
His robe had already been torn to shreds by the berserk mana and was now hanging on his body in pieces, stained with blood and dust. Fran cut a sorry figure, and his right shoulder and arm had already been crippled, softly hanging to the side.
"High Mage Fran …" Lin Yun passed through the dust and smoke and slowly walked over to Fran. After fumbling in his pocket, he fished out two Hell Hearts. "Do you still think I cheated?"
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